[citation needed] He picked Merriman to accompany him and his wife, actress Vivien Leigh, on a tour of Romeo and Juliet, where she performed songs during the set changes.
Merriman sang many roles both live and on radio under the baton of Arturo Toscanini between 1944 and 1953, while he was conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra.
She was also featured as Dorabella in a 1956 La Scala performance of Mozart's Così fan tutte, which was conducted by Toscanini's short-lived protégé, Guido Cantelli.
Merriman recorded Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde three times, twice with the tenor Ernst Haefliger and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Merriman was particularly well received in the Netherlands,[citation needed] where she met and married Dutch tenor Tom Brand, a widower with several children.